Now in its seventh year, Iraq's Duhok International Film Festival (DIFF) has become Iraq’s preeminent event that brings cult films from the Middle East to the region's multicultural city, Dahuk. Between Sept. 9 and Sept. 16, the festival features 110 films and six panels.
The theme of this year’s festival is coexistence and acceptance, with a focus on films from across the Middle East. Shawkat Amin Korki, the festival’s artistic director and a well-known film director, told Al-Monitor, “[Dahuk] is a city situated in a region that has been the cradle of various religions, ethnicities and languages. With this theme, we want to underline that genuine coexistence is possible yet fragile.”
Other festival staff highlighted that cinema acts as crucial social infrastructure; diverse groups convene together and can understand one another and become more tolerant. Korki sees cinema as a tool for coexistence. “The two are deeply connected. A good film enables you to understand the feelings of your friends and enemies. That is key to coexistence,” he said.
From Tunisia to Palestine to Iraq, conflict and trauma are hallmarks of collective memories in the region. French-born Syrian director Soudade Kaadan will compete in the World Cinema Feature section with her wildly mercurial film, "The Day I Lost My Shadow," which won the Lion of the Future Award at the Venice Film Festival. “I am looking forward to feature my film here. I have always felt that the story would resonate more with an audience that has felt war before,” Kaadan told Al-Monitor when asked about the festival’s focus on coexistence between fragile communities. At its core, the film focuses on a mother trying to cook for her son during the coldest winter in Syria. “This very human struggle can be applied almost anywhere and particularly here," she said.
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